Dallas ISD teaming up with Boy Scouts

Leadership, patriotism and survival skills are part of what the Boys Scouts of America teach.

"We have a lot of fun. They teach us each day something new,” said sixth grader Juan Gonzales.

Dallas ISD and the Boy Scouts of America have teamed up. They brought the Boy Scouts to the Young Men's Leadership Academy in south Dallas and made it part of the curriculum.

All 900 students at the all-boys school will spend an hour every Thursday as part of the Boy Scouts.

"It's helping me because I used to think I wouldn't be able to be anything, but now, that they come here all the time. I think that I can do something in my life,” said student Cayden Allan.

The area around the school is impoverished and has a high crime rate. In the last couple of weeks, two teens were killed in the neighborhood. School leaders say that is why it's important to teach the young boys how to make the right choices.

"Options and opportunities. Chances and choices to do something different than what you see in this neighborhood every day,” said coordinator Kevin Malonson.

The Boy Scouts pay for everything and if they want to participate after school, the scouts pay for all uniforms, trips, and other fees.

“I used to think I would never go any place just to work here, but now, I feel like I can go around exploring,” said Eliseo Torres.